Chachi Made Me Do It

[DonziJon]

I've been a model boat builder for well over a decade. I build Museum Quality boat models of the old mahogany classics. Race boats..Runabouts, Long Deck Launches....Sailing Dinghys.. My models are Scratch Built.."Stick By Stick"....to the print.

I have not done any R/C.

The standards for a R/C model are far different than a Static Model that is meant to represent the original boat as it was....to "Fine Scale" ..in a Museum setting.
I will post some pictures of my work in the next few days. I am still learning how to use my new flat bed scanner to copy old Photo Prints.. BUT: I think I have to take some new pictures with the digital camera...:wink:

Posting pictures is not my forte. DJ

[CHACHI]

DJ, I may of "made you do it" but the rest of the board will definately thank me for it. They will not be dissapointed.

I have seen your work and it is second to none.

I hope you can capture the detail in the photos, like the rivets for the planking.

Now take some photos.

Ken

[Phil S]

Sounds very cool.....can't wait to see some pics !!

[gcarter]

I've heard a lot about John's models.
I'd certainly like to see some pictures of them.

[HOWARD O]

Jon sent me his first scan. Frankly, I was expecting something a little more elaborate! :cool:

[HOWARD O]

Just kidding, Jon. I am fascinated with true model boats and am anxiously awaiting to see yours too! :yes:

[DonziJon]

I met with Mark Mason, the owner early on, to photograph the original boat. Without his cooperation the model as seen here would not have been possible.

The model was built from scratch using blueprints taken from the original drawings by George F. Crouch in 1924. Every plank and frame in the model duplicates the original boat inside and out. There are over 11,000 copper rivets in the model. The Hispano Suiza V8 was also fabricated from scratch using resin for the block and cam covers and aluminum billet for the intake manifolds. The effort took five years working off and on.

[DonziJon]

I'll post more pictures as I get them arranged and figure out what I'm doing. DJ

[DonziJon]

Early in the build.

[DonziJon]

Early in the build. The Hispano Suiza was a WWI aircraft engine making about 220 HP. The Hisso in Bootlegger is 300 HP. Capitol Gear made transmissions for aircraft engine marine conversions.

[DonziJon]

It looks like smaller files (<.5 Mb) work better than big (2.1 Mb) files.

As an aside, the model won "Best of Show" and "Best Craftsmenship" at the Thousand Islands Museum Model Boat Show in 1999, which ran concurrent with the Antique Boat Museum (Clayton) Regatta....or was it the Race Boat Regatta..? :) DJ

[jl1962]

WOW!

One of my favorite boats. I like the Nevins cradle too.

I almost met Mark a few years ago on Lake George. He was staying w/ friends of friends but was out running Impshi, a replica Gold Cup boat while I was there. I'm not sure what engine was/is in Impshi, but it sounded great - basso profundo.....!

Have you done a model of Reliance yet?

[McGary911]

Wow. That's pretty insane. Incredible craftsmanship.

So....has it ever gotten wet? :eek:

[MOP]

I have had my nose about 18 inches from it, the pictures are cool but in person it stops you dead in your tracks. Bonnie had to say "Come On" about 6-8 times, it is a wooden Swiss watch.

Phil

[Phil S]

OVER THE TOP !!! Wow.....stunning craftsmanship there DonziJon !! I cannot fathom the hours of work or research a project such as this entails ! "Fabulous work of art" doesn't quite do it justice....thank you for sharing !!

With kind regards,
Phil S

ps. Is this just a hobby of yours ???

[Phil S]

What scale is that micrometer laying next to the engine ? Geez, I'd be lucky if I could see well enough to even find that tool, much less read anything it actually it measured !!! Again, o-v-e-r the t-o-p awesome !! Great work ! :yes:

Phil S.

[HOWARD O]

Wow! I'm speechless, they are just breathtaking, Jon! :yes:

And thank you for uploading LARGE photos so we can actually see them!

[Tony]

I'm as impressed with his modesty as much as his talent.
A member for over 5 years, and he has not (to my knowledge) shown off this incredible craftsmanship to us...

Beautiful work, major kudos!

[CHACHI]

I am glad you guys like his work.

I met John and his wife Connie many years ago at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton. When he showed me the photos of his work, I was speechless. As Phil has said, in real life it is unbelievable how accurate the final piece is.

If my memory is still working, John said that the rivets were copper wire that were all cut to length with nail clippers to get a flush cut.

Anyway, John, thanks for sharing.

Ken

[Cuda]

They had a giant sailing ship in Tampa Bay one time. It's home base is in Annapolis. I think it belonged to the Coast Guard. I'd love to see a model of that. It was imposing!

[Cuda]

I know a guy who makes models of Harley motorcycles out of matchsticks.

[DonziJon]

Thanks guys for all the compliments. Baby Bootlegger was the third model out of four that I have done. I don't build anymore because I can't see as good as I used to. I may post pictures of the others sometime. :wink: John

[HOWARD O]

John, when you begin a model of this magnitude, is it something that you work on dilligently until it's complete or do you take a month or two off and go back to it? I'm just curious how a person can stay engaged like that. For instance, how many rivets do you suppose are in that boat and how long do you work on that? Do you make all the planks at once, or more like one by one? Once you start on a particular "stage", do you stick with it until that stage is complete?

Really amazing stuff. I know I don't have the talent to actually fabricate any of the pieces on that model and I definitely know I wouldn't have either the patience nor the stick-to-itiveness to complete something like that.

Oh, and where do you build them? Do you have a shop in your basement or garage?

Sorry for all the questions. I just envy your talent and am interested in how you accomplish it all! :confused:

[HOWARD O]

This guy does pretty cool stuff. Would be a pretty cool way to make a living. http://www.yachtmodels.com/

[DonziJon]

John, when you begin a model of this magnitude, is it something that you work on dilligently until it's complete or do you take a month or two off and go back to it? I'm just curious how a person can stay engaged like that. For instance, how many rivets do you suppose are in that boat and how long do you work on that? Do you make all the planks at once, or more like one by one? Once you start on a particular "stage", do you stick with it until that stage is complete?

Really amazing stuff. I know I don't have the talent to actually fabricate any of the pieces on that model and I definitely know I wouldn't have either the patience nor the stick-to-itiveness to complete something like that.

Oh, and where do you build them? Do you have a shop in your basement or garage?

Sorry for all the questions. I just envy your talent and am interested in how you accomplish it all! :confused:

I work on the models in my basement shop....not very big. I share the space with the furnace and the fuel oil tank. :yes:

I haven't met Bob Eddy but I remember his name. If memory serves me he is one of the preeminent boat model builders. Actually making a living at it.

I worked on the model until I would get bored..then a break...I think one of those breaks was seven months. I built it for pleasure..I imagined I was building the REAL thing.

The Rivets: Mark Mason kidded me about my wanting to do the rivets. There are models of Baby Bootlegger out there and some of them are pretty good.....BUT NO ONE had/has done it with the rivets....OR The Engine.

The original boat was double planked with one layer of 7/16 mahogany and I think the second layer was 3/8. The first layer on the frames was screwed/rivetted to the frames and the second layer was riveted to the first layer of planking...rivets in between the frames.

When I did the rivets I would do maybe six vertical columns (between 3 frames) of rivets at a sitting. I think there were 26 rivets (13 planks) in a verticle column..I'm a little rusty. There were about 4600 rivets in one side, and they fell in between the frames.... to tie the outer layer to the inner layer. So if you look carefully you will see three vertical columns of rivets and then a "space". The Model is NOT double planked.

Then there were the rivets in the bottom and deck which I never counted.

The planks were added one at a time as they would be in real life. First one side and then the other. Each plank is shaped to fit the space. Keep in mind....a plank is lets say 3 inches wide in the middle of the boat and HAS To taper down to much less than that at the ends. The edges of the plank..how they RUN, have to be a fair curve.

When the boat was in the Thousand Islands Museum model boat show..the engine was NOT in the boat..I hadn't built it yet.

Great questions Howard. John

[DonziJon]

What scale is that micrometer laying next to the engine ? Geez, I'd be lucky if I could see well enough to even find that tool, much less read anything it actually it measured !!! Again, o-v-e-r the t-o-p awesome !! Great work ! :yes:
Phil S.

The model is done to 1/12 scale. One inch to the foot. With one exception, my models are 1/12 scale. The original Bootlegger is 30 feet so the model is 30 inches. Some modelers like 1/8 scale but that can get BIG if the original is much over 30 feet. :nilly: John

[HOWARD O]

Really great stuff, John. Thanks for sharing and answering my questions too! Try and post some more of them when you have the time and inclination!

[mphatc]

Donzi Jon,

Seems like you spend some time around Winni? We should connect . .

I was at the Meredith Boat Show the year Baby Bootlegger first came out and Mark gave the wife of the designer ? a ride, IRC she was an elderly frail little lady who lived on Squam and had kept the design drawings of the boat for many years. When Mark returned to the dock he came ripping around the point by what is now the Church Landing at full throttle. What a sound!! Mark took her all the way to the Weirs and back, and I disctinctly recall Mark saying she wanted Full Throttle! So cool to see the smile on her face!

A few years later I acquired my Donzi Corsican, and the first day I ran the boat I was towed in past Mark Mason's lakefront residence. We ate at a small restaurant and when I came back to my boat and truck I found a business card from Mark with a comment on the back, "I once owned a Corsican, call me sometime". Possibly I should do that . . .



Mario L.
Chip Island
Wolfeboro and Bedford NH

[DonziJon]

I know a guy who makes models of Harley motorcycles out of matchsticks.

Hey Joe: I'm enthused. I like that idea....maybe I should try that. I'll do anything once. Where can I get a good supply of mahogany matchsticks...?? :wink: :nilly: :bonk: John

[zelatore]

Wow! Color me impressed!

[Carl C]

Really nice. The large files are good for blowing them up to see the detail!